Connie looked almost as excited as Emma when she started explaining about the book signing next weekend. Personally, I don’t quite get it, but anything that makes my girl smile and bounce around on her seat like that is fine with me. Connie has already sent a couple of messages out to see if she can get cover for the weekend.
“You really don’t have to come. I can make an excuse for you,” Emma calls out from the bathroom where she is getting ready to go to her parents’ for Sunday dinner.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times she’s said this over the last few days. Every time she brings it up, my answer is the same. “No, I want to come and meet everyone properly.” I never thought I’d be actually willing to meet a girl’s parents, but I’m weirdly looking forward to it. I mean, I’m obviously in her parents’ good books after finding her on Tuesday, and I’m sure they’ve already filled the rest of the family in. It doesn’t hurt turning up as the good guy. Better than looking like the player that is going to break their little girl’s heart, which is something I’ve heard before. Although, that was after I’d apparently broken their little girl’s heart. I don’t think they quite appreciated what a slut their little girl was, though!
When we get to their house, I am greeted with a huge, warm hug from Susan and a hand shake and pat on the back from Pete. They are such a warm and loving couple. They remind me of my parents before it all went to hell. Yeah, they are back together and in love now, but I don’t see it quite the same after everything that happened.
When we move into the living room, I’m greeted by a range of faces, some of which I recognise, and others that I can only presume who they are.
Molly is the first one up to give me a hug. I vaguely recognise her, but seeing as she has a baby in her arms it’s not hard to work it out.
“Thank you,” she whispers in my ear when she gives me a one-armed hug. “We haven’t seen Emma look this happy for years.” She does then have a slight change of tune and shocks the hell out of me by saying, “But if you hurt her, you’ll have all of us to answer to.” She pulls back with a sweet smile on her face and goes on to introduce everyone as if she never threatened me. Dec, who I’ve met before, is there, along with his twin Lilly, who looks so much like the photo Emma has by her bed of Hannah it’s unreal, Molly’s fiancé Ryan, and his sister Abbi and her husband Jax.
I leave their house feeling weirdly content. My family has been mostly great over the years, but it’s always pretty much been just the four of us. All our grandparents were around for a few years, but all but my nan passed away before we were teenagers. But being surrounded by such a huge family and listening to them all chatter away like they are the most important people in the world made me think that maybe that is something I want for mine and Emma’s future. I can just see my new house full of people we love, with a few kids running around, maybe a dog. The thought doesn’t scare me as much as it would have done even a few weeks ago. I even held baby Lois this afternoon without freaking out. I think the look on Emma’s face helped, though. Her eyes went all soft and a little watery as she looked from me to the little bundle of pink in my arms. I couldn’t help but notice Molly and Susan have the same looks on their faces as well. I guess they were all having similar thoughts.
I drop Emma off at her house with the promise that I’ll be back in a few hours. I need to sort out a couple of things at work for the morning. She tries to tell me to just sleep at home tonight, but that is not happening. I don’t intend on spending any nights away from her. Well, apart from next weekend, unfortunately, when she’ll be sharing a room with Connie in Birmingham for this signing thing. Two nights without her sexy body cuddled into mine is quite enough.
“Hey, it’s Mr. Pussy Whipped himself,” Fin sings when I walk into the kitchen of my place.
I’m not surprised to see Fin here without me. Him and Connie are close friends and I know that Fin doesn’t like to spend too much time at home. He lives with his dad, who brought him up after his mum died when he was little. I’m not sure what the deal with his dad is, because he never talks about him, but I know things aren’t great at home. I haven’t been to his house, or seen his dad for years. It is the only subject that is off the table when it comes to our conversations. I have tried to talk to him about it over the years, but I’ve always been shot down. Connie hasn’t had much luck, either.
“Fuck off,” I grunt at him as I walk past and head up to my bedroom to grab some stuff to take to Emma’s.
“Sooo…” he starts as he follows me into my room. “You had a taste of her sweet, sweet lady bits yet?”
“Fuck. Off.”
“Oh come on, you’re not usually one to shy away from the details.”
“I am this time,” I say back, getting more and more pissed off.
“Oh come on, dude, she’s just another girl.”
The fine line I was riding between pissed off and angry snaps. I turn and have Fin backed up against the wall before he has time to blink.
“Emma is not just another girl,” I growl in his face.
He puts his hands up in surrender, “Okay, okay, sorry dude. Didn’t realise you planned on marrying this one.”
“Well, you’d better realise soon, then, because that is exactly what I intend to do, and if you want to be my best man you’d better start treating her with the respect she deserves.” I step back when I’ve finished my little speech, and give my arms and shoulders a shake to release the tension.
“Aw, little Ruben is all grown up,” Fin teases.
“Yeah well, maybe it’s time you did the same, mate. Because fucking a different woman every weekend gets a little old in the end. The only thing I’m going to say about it is that it’s sooooo much fucking better with someone you care about.”
His face lights up like a Cheshire cat at that comment. “Is that fucking right?”
I leave the house a while later. Fin is still grinning as I give Connie a kiss on the cheek. “Rich tea biscuits, I haven’t seen you eat them since we were kids and Mum gave them to us when we were sick,” I comment on Connie’s choice of snack before leaving and heading to the office, then to my new house to check out the plastering.
Chapter Twenty
Emma
I pull up at Ruben and Connie’s place just after six, ready to pick Connie up and head to Birmingham for the signing tomorrow. I let myself in and almost trip over the tiny suitcase that’s sat in the hallway. I presume she must have more in her room, because there is no way Connie has all her clothes in there, let alone the books she wants signed.
“Hey, babe. Good day?” Ruben asks, coming over to me when I enter the kitchen. He pulls me into him, then kisses me like he didn’t only see me this morning. I’m panting and starting to break a sweat when he pulls back. I’m suddenly regretting saying we’d leave so soon; I could do with an hour or so with Ruben now he’s got me all fired up.
I worked all this week after having the previous week off with not knowing how I was going to handle my birthday, so we haven’t really seen much of each other with the late nights I’ve done. He’s still insisted on sleeping at mine every night, though, and no matter what time I eventually stumbled through the door, he was sat there with Kia waiting for me with dinner cooked. I could seriously get used to this domesticated couple thing we have going on. I thought I would miss my own space, but I’ve actually felt lonely the few hours I have spent home alone this week.
Everything since last Tuesday has been perfect. We just seem to work together so well. All my family love him. My mum rang me at work on Monday to make sure I knew how amazing they all thought he was at dinner the day before. She also mentioned, as I knew she would, the way he held and looked at Lois. My heart melted when Molly passed her to Ruben to hold. He looked like a giant compared to her, but he was so sweet and soft with her. I fell for him even harder in that moment. I may have already been considering my future with Ruben after his comment about filling me with his kid a few days before, but now my mum is ge
tting her knitting needles out, ready for her first grandchild.
“Yeah, you?” I ask once I’m put down.
“Yeah. So…listen,” he starts, and my stomach flips at the tone in his voice. Nothing good can come next.
“Connie’s ill, she’s got a stomach bug or something.”
It wasn’t what I thought was coming, but my stomach drops anyway. I’ve been so looking forward to spending this this weekend with her. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry, babe, I know how excited you’ve been.”
“Yeah, it’s okay though. If she’s ill, she’s ill.” I go to plonk myself on one of the bar stools and try to keep the disappointment off my face.
“What are you doing?” Ruben asks, before grabbing my hand and pulling me back up. “You want to get there before it’s too late, don’t you?”
“What…But-”
“I’m coming with you. You didn’t think I’d let you miss it, did you? Now, let’s go get your stuff out of your car and get going.”
“You want to come to a book signing with me?” I ask in amazement.
“Well I haven’t really got any interest in the book signing, but I want to spend the weekend with you.”
An ear to ear smile spreads across my face. How did I find this guy who is not only hot as hell, but is the sweetest person I’ve ever met? And for the millionth time, why does he want me?
I poke my head in on Connie to check on her before we leave. She’s sat in her bed with the TV on, looking very grey. I make sure she’s got everything she needs before we head out.
“What the hell is in here?” Ruben asks as he lifts one of my two cases from my car.
“Books, of course.” The first thing I did when I got a chance was to check out what authors are going to be at this signing, and make sure I had copies ready for all the ones I wanted signing. It took me forever to go through my boxes to find the ones I already had.
“Right, silly me,” he says with a laugh as he puts it into his truck.
“I managed to organise the upgrade you requested, Mr. Morrison,” the woman behind reception at the hotel says when we get to the front of the line. As expected, there are people – well, women – everywhere. God knows how he’s managed to get a room upgrade; I’d have thought they’d be fully booked.
I look up to Ruben in question, but he just shrugs at me and sorts out the paperwork before taking the room key and nodding over to the lift.
“What is she talking about, a room upgrade, Mr. Morrison?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s a surprise. Wait and see.”
Well, I was seriously surprised. Ruben had managed to upgrade the twin room Molly booked for us to one of the hotel’s suites. I’d only ever seen rooms like it on the TV. It was bloody massive, with a living room, bedroom and ginormous bathroom.
“This must have cost you an arm and a leg,” I scold.
“You’re worth it, babe.”
“I really don’t think I am, but thank you, it’s amazing.”
I’m quickly pulled back into Ruben’s chest and chastised for putting myself down. I’m annoyed about being told off like a child until he puts his lips to the sensitive spot under my ear and starts kissing. It’s all forgotten then.
His hands skim up from my hips until they are squeezing my breasts. “I wish I had time to get you naked, but I want to take you for dinner first,” he groans in my ear, making goose bumps prickle my skin.
He quickly pulls away from me and I turn just in time to see him adjust himself in his jeans.
“Come on, we’re not going anywhere fancy. That’ll just waste time.” He grabs my hand and pulls me like a rag doll out of the room and back into the lift.
We ended up at an American style diner. Both of us had their signature burger, but because I felt so guilty about having it after being so good with my diet for so long, I changed the chips for a side salad. Having said that, though, I did nick a few chips off Ruben’s plate, much to his disgust.
As soon as we were done eating – okay, as soon as I was done eating, because Ruben wolfed his down in mere minutes then spent the rest of the time hurrying me up – he dragged me out of there like the place was on fire and back up to our room.
“Drink?” he asks, walking over to the minibar in the living room.
“Yeah, but shall we go down to the bar and get them? That stuff costs a fortune.”
“Shut up, Em. Just go with the flow here, yeah, and do as you’re told.”
“Uh…” I’m not really sure what to say to that.
“Perfect. I’ll sort drinks. There should be a couple of presents for you in the bathroom; why don’t you go and have a look?”
“In the bathroom?” I question.
“Yep, off you go.”
I look at him for a few seconds in question, but he turns his back to me and grabs a glass. I eventually move towards the bathroom, wondering what the hell could be in there.
I immediately see two gift bags when I look around after shutting the door behind me. Seriously intrigued, I go straight over and look in. There is a shoebox in one, and the other has something wrapped in tissue paper. I think I’m starting to understand. My heart starts pounding as I think about how if I’m right this is more of a present for him than it is for me!
I pull the package out, open it and just stare in amazement. There, laid out on the vanity unit, is a set of almost completely sheer white lingerie, complete with corset, suspender belt and stockings. Oh, and a pair of sky-high silver, glittery heels to go with it. I rest my hands on the basin and hang my head between my shoulders.
Does he really think I can do this? Just put it all on and walk out there like I’m some pin up girl? That’s not who I am. I’m this overweight, frumpy girl whose hips and arse are way too big for the rest of her body. I can’t just put this on and saunter sexily out there like some goddess. An image of Danni from all those weeks ago with her sexy lingerie under her coat comes to mind. I could never look anything like what she did. She looked like a bloody model. There wasn’t in inch of flab or a stretchmark in sight.
I lift my head up to look at myself in the mirror. I stare at my reflection for a few seconds before I hear Ruben’s voice.
“You okay, Em? You’re very quiet in there.”
“I…uh…” I have no idea how to answer that question. He hates it when I put myself down or say bad things about my body so I hold my tongue. “Yeah.”
“Good, because I can’t fucking wait to see you in that. Been picturing you in it all day.”
Hearing him say that makes me feel a little better. I look over my shoulder into the full-length mirror and run my eyes up and down my body, reminding myself of what he says he loves, and try to ignore my inner demons telling me he’s wrong.
I take a deep breath and start stripping my clothes off. It’s not until I’m naked that I think to check the sizes of what he’s bought me. To my amazement, they are all right.
It takes me ages to do up all the hook and eyes that run down the front of the corset and to wrestle my boobs in to a position so they don’t look like they are trying to escape. The thong is tied with two ribbons at my hips - I presume for easy access once the suspender belt is on.
Once I’m done, I teeter over and look back in the full-length mirror. I’m actually pleasantly surprised by what I see. The corset ensures my belly is held in a nice smooth shape, and gives me a tiny waist. I kinda of feel a little like a burlesque dancer with the curves I’ve got. I have to smile to myself, because never in a million years would I have thought to compare my body to theirs; I mean, they are seriously sexy and they ooze confidence. I’ve got the curves, all I now need is the confidence.
I run my hands through my hair to give it some extra volume before taking one final deep breath and carefully walking over to the door. Confidence might start with having shoes that I don’t feel like I’m going to fall out of any minute.
I close my hand around the doorknob, shut my eyes for a second, and
let out a breath. Without giving it any more thought, I pull it open and step out from inside the bathroom. The first thing that hits me is the soft music playing in the room. The second thing is the six foot something male that is propped up against the headboard of the four poster bed, naked, stroking himself as he stares at me with a hunger in his eyes that I have not witnessed before. It instantly chases away my nerves and the butterflies that had taken flight in my stomach. They are replaced by apprehension and excitement.
The movement of his hand stills as his eyes run over my body. I walk, I hope somewhat sexily, over to him and watch the muscles in his neck flex as he swallows. His reaction to me brings out my inner vixen, because when I spot my drink on the bedside table, I walk over to it, turn my back on him and take a sip – well, it’s more like a huge gulp – for liquid courage.
I hear his intake of breath as I presume he takes in my practically naked arse. Once I’ve downed half my vodka cranberry, I look over my shoulder at him and smile. He’s now sat up like he’s about to lunge for me, and the twitching of his cock catches my eye.
I stand back and let my eyes run all over him like he just did to me. Fuck, he’s hot. His dark hair is starting to flop forward on to his forehead where the product he uses is starting to lose its fight. The muscles in his neck and shoulders are tensed, and his toned chest is rising and falling at an impressive rate, causing his abs to flex with each breath. His cock is thick and pointing its glistening head straight at me. What I love the most, though, as I always have, are his thighs, and as he moves himself off the bed, I watch the muscles ripple in them. I bite down on my bottom lip to stop myself from groaning at the sight.
“The picture I saw of that did not do it any justice. Fuck me, Emma, you look…Fuck!” He gives up his fight to find the right words. Instead, he threads his hands into my hair and pulls my lips to his.
Angel Series Books #1-2.5 Page 90